The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-12-10
HARPER PUTSIN ADENIAL
HIS TONGUE RUN WILD WHEN He
GOT ON THE STAND.

I
There, But He Persisted-He Denies
All the Allegations Made by Wilt
shire and Charges Him With Causing
the Banks Ruin.
CINCINNATI, o., Dec. 9-This proved to
be great day in the Harper trial. Until
after the court opened it was not known
whether Harper himself would become n
witness or not. 1t has been said that his
counsel protested against his appearance on
the witness stand, and that he as firmly in
sisted that his interests demanded
that he should tell his own
story. This uncertainty brought
a most unusual throng of spectators. Be
fore 10 o'clock, the hour for opening the
court, all the available space in the court
room was occupied. Even the space behind
the railing, sacred to the officers of the
court, was filed with ladies and friends of
the court Harper appeared pale and
| anxious, his wife weary and her sister,
| Miss Matthews, wore a face bearing traces
of recent distress.
When court opened Mr.. Blackburn called
Harper to the witness stand. Before he
| took the oath Judge jackson asked did
you request to be placed on the witness
standm
| "Yes sir" was the answer.
WILTSHIRE AS a BORROWER.
The oath was then administered, and in
| answer to questions by Mr.. Blackburn the
witness said he now resided in the county
! jail, and told of his previous business ca
reer, ending with the Fidelity National
Bank, which he said he organized out of the
Fidelity Safe Deposit and Trust Com
pany. He smiled when asked if he
| knew j. w. Wiltshire, and
went on to detail Wiltshire's
connection with the Fidelity National
! Bank. He said that in September, 1856, he
was induced by Wiltshire to make him
loan of $50 900 Wiltshire at this time was
debtor to the bank to the amount of
! $500, 900, and he represented to Harper that
if this loan was not made the bank would
suffer. He accommodated Wiltshire, tax
| ing an agreement to transfer certain real
| estate and also 100 shares of the Fidelity
National Bank at par, then worth 100.
TOOK UP A PROTESTED CHECK.
All went well until October, when the
witness returned from a little dinner party
! composed of Wiltshire and some officers of
the bank, and found that during his alb
sence Wiltshire, Eckert q Co.'S check for
| 500 900 on the First National Bank had been
returned as not good, That check, Wilt
shire said, he was unable to make good, and
we were compelled to carry it. Another
| day, when the witness was out, Wiltshire,
| Eckert a. Co., got Hopkins to wire
! $50, 900 credit to Chicago upon certified
checks. At the close of business hours that
day he found Wiltshire, Eckert & CO. ac-
count overdrawn 100000. With the former
S26, ,000 their debit to the bank of $500, 900,
and their debt to him of $55, 900, he felt that
they were in dangerous position. Wilt
shire transferred to him real estate and
stock, which he turned over TO the bank
He stormed at Wiltshire, but could get
nothing out of him. He then suggested to
the cashier to take a call loan from Wilt
SHIRE Eckert & Co., and save the cashier.
NOT ORDERED TO BUY GRAIN.
In answer to direct questions from Mr.
| Blackburn, Harper stated unreservedly that
he never gave an order of any kind to
Eckert to buy grain for him in Chicago,
and he was equally sweeping and explicit in
saying that he never authorized Wiltshire
to buy grain for him in Chicago or else
where. This is the point of the whole case,
| and is in direct conflict with the testimony
of both Wiltshire and Eckert.
Harpers manner on the stand showed
what a difficult man he has been for his
attorney to manage. He took the jury into
his confidence and talked to them with the
purpose of convincing them, but all the
time was transgreSsing the rules of
evidence, as explained to him again and
|
case as he'went along until Judge Jacllson's
rebukes began TO bear tones of impaience
He testified a dozen times to occurrences
| which he did not witness but of which some
body had told him. Every question furnish
ed new opportunity to him to say what
his intentions were.
| EXPLAINING THREE NOTES.
1t seemed like presumption, after Har-
! per's sweeping denial that he had ever in any
way ordered Wiltshire to buy wheat for
| him in Chicago, or elsewhere for his coun-
| sci to hand him three notes bearing the ni-
| tials o. K. T.. L. H., and ask him to
explain them. Harper went on to say that
when Wiltshire, in March, still owed the
bank and him those large sums, no insisted
ON Wiltshire selling out hls wheat deal, so
as to pay his debts. Wiltshire said to do so
safely he should buy some that day to keep
| up the market, and then he could sell out
| to advantage the next day. HE asked my
advice" said Harper, ''and | gave it. /
said to him: make out your
order to buy June wheat and
| if it is all right, will o. K. it. Wiltshire
sent to the bank this note that he was going
| to buy that day 10000 bushels of wheat.
| and o. K. d it. 1t was no act or account
| of mine in any shape or FORM The books
of the bank will show, | think, that he paid
the bank a considerable amount of money
| next day. ! had no purpose whatever in
| this transaction except to get the money
for the bank that was owing to it by Wilt
shire.n
THE OTHER NOTES.
The second note was in cipher, and Har-
per said it related TO the same sort of trans
action The third note he explained by
saying that Wiltshire told him he had 10
pay for lot of wheat May /. HE
wanted me-" said Harper, Ito furnish
money for this purpose. l refused. He
SAID would be sorry. l advised him TO
sell May wheat and buy June and pay the
difference. He asked me to write mem
orandum of the telegram TO that effect,
saying: Please change that May wheat
! | have not provided Tor TO June
and July. Ny principal has
decided, etc' Wiltshire represented to me
that he was buying largely for Cleveland
parties, and that is what | suppose he re
ferled to in the words my principal" The
witness then asked permission to explain the
check of Wiltshires for $1,000 in October,
but was stopped by the court. He was then
asked if it was given for a wheat deal. He
answered no; that twas given TO pay bonds
which Wiltshire had hypothecatcd without
authority.
BOUND TO TALK.
Here the court again stopped and eau
toned him to answer questions, and not go
into irrelevant matters But he again
lapsed so far as to tell that Wiltshire had
~ I,alr,